This morning we had our first snow of the season. It was the type of snow event that you can appreciate and enjoy. The shovel remained in the garage as the snow didn’t stick to the driveway or roads. Lovely white flakes floated down coating the bird feeder with a thin cotton like blanket. Titmice, finches, snowbirds, pine siskins, nuthatches and other birds looking for an easier breakfast than could be found on the whitened ground pushed for a place on the feeder’s perch. The softness of the sky compensated for the chill brought by the winds. It was merely an inch of quickly melting fluffiness that covered the grass and collapsed the few remaining leaves on the Japanese Maples, forsythia, rose bushes and hostas. There was no threat unlike prior Novembers; the trees shuddered slightly with the light pelting of the day. Last year we received 8 inches of snow days after we had power restored from a week-long Sandy outage; the prior year the first snow was an 18-inch blast prior to Halloween that took down trees, power lines and was coined Snotober.
There is another raking that will be needed and a few final chores. I need to wrap the fig tree with burlap, straw and a white tarp. The mums need to be cut back and I’ll apply a bit of straw to the base of the roses. I think I will leave the lacy yellowed asparagus stalks up until they collapse under the weight of heavier snow. The sunflowers have not been knocked down yet by the squirrels; they are late this year. But I’m not considering outdoor chores right now. It is comfortable in my chair near the fire. It’s time to place another log in the stove and watch the birds position themselves for an opening on the feeders before I doze off for an undeserved afternoon nap.
